Tuesday, February 25, 2014

June- We could do it early June, just after school is out. Advantages: We won't be in the hottest part of the summer yet, and we have the freedom of not having any school or schedules to worry about. It is also sooner than any other option. Disadvantages: It still will be mighty hot, and many people are on vacation or at camp this time of year.

August- Advantages: Most people will be home from vacation and we still have the freedom of summer to work with. Disadvantages: It is going to be hot, very hot.

October 2-3- The 2nd is an early dismissal day and the 3rd is teacher professional development. This is a Thursday and Friday. Advantages: The weather should be relatively nice. Disadvantages: Teachers would be unavailable to help on Friday and it would be hard for college students to join us, making adult help very difficult.

November 24-25- This is during Thanksgiving Holiday. Advantages: The weather shouldn't be too cold yet, and everyone is off. Disadvantages: Many people go on vacation during this time.

Any single Saturday in the Fall- This would not be an overnight event. Advantages: Flexibility, we can pick almost any Saturday. Disadvantages: This would be less fun (no sleeping at the dorms) for more money, since the camp charges noon one day to noon the next day, you have to buy two days for half the adventure. We could play all day, but there would be no overnight stuff.

Monday, February 24, 2014

1) Some new rules will be written, though most will stay the same as the last event. In particular there will be additions added for general hand signals used to get 'out of game' so combat won't be interrupted by rule questions, injuries, and the like. A handbook containing rules, applications, and a detailed outline of the event will be made up.

2) The goal is to have 6-8 teams, each consisting of 4-8 people. The cost per person should run about $35- $40 which would include meals and staying in the dorms. These teams will bring weapons (which must be registered and marked as "enchanted" or "mundane"), costumes, a flag, choose a color and etc.

3) We will need 12-16 adults and volunteers to help run the game as NPCs for the quests and game masters. There will be needs for additional adults for each team, for safety. We will also need people to help cook.

4) Teams would be required to help cook and clean up, as well as spending 1 hour the first day as a roaming band of orcs or other dark figures who complicate the lives of questing parties and individuals.

5) There will be ongoing arena battles where people can do 1-on-1 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 battles. This will be used to gain game points for the team, and "money" that can be used to buy manna potions (re-upping spells), health potions and additional weapons (available at the 'inn').

6) There will be periodic opportunities to do hunger-games style events like the one at the end of the last event. These too will add to game points, money, and the like.

7) A team will be able to challenge another team to a 30-minute battle of the same type we did last weekend, in that particular area of the camp, under almost the exact same rules. A team can decline a challenge, but declining a challenge means you gain no game points. Losing a challenge is worth game points, so within the context of game points, it is better to accept and lose than decline.

8) Each team will have a quest to complete the first day of the event. Failure to complete the quest means conscription into the Orc Army at the end. Quests will include hunting a werewolf, chasing down and defeating the roaming band of Orcs, collecting ingredients for a special spell, and more.

9) The players will stay in the dorms. There will be a boy and girls dorm so there will be a limited number of spaces for boys and girls. Additionally, the two teams with the highest game points will be able to claim the cabins for sleeping arrangements as their 'castles'.

10) During the night, in the area around the dorms (well-lit) there will be three 'night raids' similar to the one we did over the weekend. Everyone will have a chance to get up and claim glory.

11) At the end of the first day, two 'kings' will be chosen to conscript the other teams into two armies. They can plan out their attacks.

12) The final battle will take place in the area we were at this weekend. It will be a full-on war between the two armies.

13) PART of the losing army will be conscripted into the orc army at the end, joined by super-powered DMs. This group will then fight the winning army from #12.

14) There will then be major clean up and weapons collections, de-registration and then home.

The Historical Account Of The Battle For The Sword of the First Paladin

A History of the Land of Eld

On the plane of Midworld, a layer of the multiverse which hangs upon the Tower of Light, there was a just and fair land known as Eld. Eld is a land of dwarfs, elves, humans and other various forest folk. These various races on other levels of the Tower live in conflict with one another, yet in Eld peace reigned, under the long rule of a wise human dynasty known as the Duschene Clan.Until one day, raising up from a lower level on the great spire that holds the entirety of the multiverses together, came a dark evil, an evil that had once reigned over the fair land of Eid in a time long forgotten, an evil the Duschenes had put down when they united the various peoples together into a coherent nation.

This evil force was small, yet so long had Eld been at peace that it was ill prepared for the menagerie of dark sorcerers, orcs, ogres, goblins, werewolves and various undead which now threatened the land. The current king, Arthur Duschenes, was a good and wise man, but unfortunately over-protective of his home town of Gilead to the detriment of the rest of his kingdom. This dark force emanated from the center of the spireplane known as Midworld, towards the North, whereas Gilead and the center of Arthur’s power base remained in the South. The Northerners felt abandoned, and Arthur was accuse of being stingy with the forces and powers at his disposal. The North, claiming only a better position from which to defend itself and the rest of Midworld, seceded from the rest of Eld, under the Auspices of Henry the Red, Duke of Shale, who now calls himself Lord of the Northland and leader of its peoples.

Arthur, fearing both the break up of his kingdom and the expanding darkness which threatens both lands, has given control of his armies over to his highest general, Jim Farson, known in many circles as ‘the Good Man’. So far, fighting between the North and South has been sporadic, though both sides claim the authority and blessings of ‘the Man Jesus His self’, and God’s own Holy Will as their guide. The skirmishes have neither lead the lands closer to reunification (which is Arthur’s goal) nor has it weakened the darkness (Henry’s only concern). Indeed it seems the Good Man’s main goal is to use Henry’s new quasi-kingdom as a buffer between Gilead and the darkness that grows beyond the North lands. Yet this, too, seems a failed effort, as the evil horde has started to create outposts in the forests of the south as well.

Realizing that some of these southerly forays have been an attempt to quarantine a particular area, Farson has used his mages to divine the plans of those who lead the enemies of all that is good. They seek a weapon, an ancient sword said to be once wielded by the first Paladin in Eld, a weapon they seek to keep out of the hands of Henry and Arthur. Farson led a small contingent of men onto the edge of the darkness to search for this weapon, while Henry has also discovered its existence. Thus did two small armies encamp at the edge of the Dark Forest, in a disputed area between the lands ruled by Arthur Duschenes and those ruled by Henry the Red. Both armies fought each other and the forces of darkness that resided in the forest. They fought for honor, they fought for control of the area, and they fought for the lands and time they needed to search out the Sword of the First Paladin, a weapon that could end the conflict between the north and the south, unite a divided people, and finally push back the terrible darkness that threatened the land. Thus began the Battle for the Sword of the First Paladin.

The Battle For The Sword

It is all but impossible to lay down an account of all the
great deeds and happenings of a battle as wide-ranging, long and bloody as the
struggle for the Sword of the Last Paladin, which took place in the depths of
the Dark Forest
in the land of Eld on the Spireplane known as Midworld.
And so I begin by begging forgiveness to any soul who braved those fields and
forests and who managed to leave them alive. The blood, sweat and tears you
gave to your kings and countries deserved better, yet the memory of the scribe
is a limited one, as it is for all men and women. Today I try only to give an
account, a general picture of some of the deeds and happenings of those fateful
days. Some stories must be told as well as they can be told, even if the result
be incomplete.

The battle began at night, which made judicious use of rogues
and mages very difficult. Indeed, those first few hours were defined by what is
known as ‘the fog of war’. Friendly fire was common, as was a general confusion
as to where one was and what was expected of one. Yet in spite of these
terrible odds, the two sides fought on. The armies of Arthur Deschanes were
heavy with rogues, expecting to fight a more
subtle and skillful war. Yes, a night battle is just the time one would expect
such an army to dominate. Yet it was not to be. The woods were thick and full
of dark mages and beasts of all kind. People fell under the evils of confusion
spells and the camp was threatened by a werewolf. No, in the end it was the
fighters who defined that terrible night. And Henry’s men were more prepared, at least at first. Voleteras, who
from now on shall be known in every land as ‘the magnificent’ was the primary
line of defense, followed by his trusty mate Hepeterous. Once Hepeterous was
called from the battlefield due to an ailing wife, Voleteras was the lone
fighter.

Yet Voleteras was by no means alone. His commander Nightshade
The Subtle, and her second in command Short Stack The Brave both showed great
valor and skill, even when they were attacked in what was supposed to be
neutral territory between the two kingdoms. And the great priest Thornberry was
the key to Arthur’s ability to hold off the attacks of the Red Rebellion. Yes,
great Gilead would’ve fallen that very night,
if not for her gifts as a healer, gifts that could only have come from the man
Jesus His self. Lady Destiny and Sir
Wyatt of Griffis got lost in the woods in the pitch of night, contributing to a
few kills once they found their way to a nearby clearing.

These
early battles were defined by brawn and steel, however, and in that regard
Henry’s men, led by Sheckler The Detail-Oriented, a powerful battle mage,
dominated. Peebler The Impervious, Burrr the Determined, and Sheckler The
Detail-Oriented together formed a valiant ‘warriors three’ that kept Nightshade
on the defensive.

Then, reinforcements arrived. Jarebare the Wise was every bit
the battle-savvy mage Sheckler was, and this buoyed not only the firepower but
the morale of Arthur’s army. Then, more
good news for the Gileadites, as a kindly druid and his sister, seeking nothing
more than the glory of battle under
the moonlit sky, joined the band and further swelled their ranks. Under the
direct leadership of John Farson’ “The Good Man”, they outsmarted Henry’s
commander “Tyrone the Impish”. Their rogues used a rearguard action to
successfully dispel a series of magical walls set up by Sheckler and the wizard
Kaxin the Diminutive (but not before Tyrone himself took down one of their
swiftest rogues, Sir Wyatt) and Nightshade’s crew stole the flag of the Red’s
army, demoralizing the men, and bringing forth fears that perhaps this victory
would not be so simple after all.

Yet Sheckler The Detail-Oriented was not without his own
supporters. A longtime ally, Zomp the Feared, battle hardened and skilled in
all ways of contending, brought renewed vigor to the war effort. In the dead of
night, a raid was launched against the Arthurian Camp, only to meet heavier
than expected resistance. At this moment, the evil denizens of the Dark Forrest
once again interjected their own brand of chaos, with several Fighter-Mages
descending from the forest, mercilessly killing men and women on both sides.
These mages wielded the same magic bolts as the armies themselves, along with
all manner of foul weapon. Their leader, however questionable his loyalties,
was a wizard and fighter most fearful, almost immediately landing an incredible
shot with his magic bolts, nearly killing Nightshade who was saved by the
blessed magic of Thornburry. Peebler rushed the same mage with a mighty roar,
and two weapons skillfully held, yet a near point-blank magic bolt sent him to
the ground. Zomp the Feared used a tactical retreat and the battle mage’s
temporary distraction by another fighter to bring about the dark mage’s doom.
Thus ended the terrible night of the Dark
Forest, yet it was a
truly glorious future lying in store for the heroes the next day.

It was a day heralded by the dawn. For the dawn was beautiful,
and stunning. And as terrible as war can be, it can also sometimes be
beautiful. Whereas the night was determined primarily by strength and chaos, it
was strategy and the poetry of the motion of combat that was the mark of that
day which will from now on be known as The Day of the Sword.

With every path, every nook and every cranny of that forest and
those fields now illuminated by a light that could only have been sent by the
man Jesus his self, the mages and rogues of each team had more freedom of movement to rain terror upon even
the most skilled of fighters. Shrek the Massive began the day with a long trek
behind enemy lines, planning a flanking maneuver the likes of which neither
side had seemed capable of bringing about the night before. He snuck quietly to
the rear of the armies of Arthur. And then, a sudden jolt of fear as the gaze
of an enemy, the fair Andrea the Swift Footed landed upon him. Shrek’s
judicious use of a magical wall exemplified the skillful use of magic in the
midst of battle, and disaster for the Red Rebellion was averted.

And so Sir Shrek rushed upon Arthur’s team, catching them
unawares, and he removed with a single magical bolt that most important piece
of the Arthurian army’s cadre, Thornburry the Blessed Priest. Meanwhile the
warriors Peebler The Impervious, Burrr and Sheckler The Detail-Oriented led a
full frontal assault to capture none other than Volaterras, the strongest front
guardsman on the Arthurian side. The gambit succeeded, and now the Magnificent
was a captive of Henry the Red.

With the Red Rebellion mastering the back country, and
neutralizing the strongest member of the Arthurian force, all seemed lost for
the contingent from Gilead. And so the fair Nightshade
along with Jarebare the Wise hatched an ingenious plan. Expecting the Red’s
army to press their advantage, and to seek back their flag, a dishonor that had
continued to pain them from the battles the night before, she had her own army
pull as far back on the field as she could, giving the illusion of a retreat.
The ruse was successful, and it was Nightshade herself who used her rogue’s
cunning to sneak behind the lines of the Red Rebellion, and free Volaterras
from prison. Peebler was a hair’s breath from claiming the maiden’s life, but
her mighty sword Swiftsheath proved too much, and Volaterras was once again
free to rain down terror upon the battlefield. Feeling exposed, The Red’s army
retreated back to their secure positions. However, unbeknownst to anyone, a
forest brownie had removed the flag of the Red from the hands of the enemy, in
the very midst of battle. Playing with it in the woods, it was discovered by
the Red’s army, and the indignity of the night before was erased, though not
for long.

Sick of playing defensive, Nightshade decided to mimic a
strategy her opponents had used successfully the night before, and use the
might of the returned Austin
the Druid, Volaterras, and the battle mage Jarebare front and center in a
full-on assault. Volaterras, remembering the indignity of his temporary
imprisonment, threw a mighty weapon right into the midst of the opposing team
with a terrible battle cry, a cry so massive it sent the Red’s army into a
temporary panic.

Yet their courage swiftly found them, and they engaged in a
battle most brutal. Yet blood and sweat can be the fertilizer from which the
tree of glory grows, and indeed such was the case this time as well. The mighty
Andrea the Swift Footed, light of foot and possessed of the best skills a thief
can have, had captured the flag of the other team, and was almost back in the
bosom of sweet safety on the Arthurian side of the field, when a mighty blow
felled her, and removed from her the advantage such a reclamation of the flag
would’ve brought, but not the honor and glory of the effort.

Henry the Red’s men pressed their advantage, and made a
full-court press to finally push out the Arthurian army. Yet it was not to be,
for just as the battle became pitched, a company of orcs emerged from the cursed
corners of the Dark
Forest and tried to take
advantage of the chaos and destroy all the warriors that sought the sword which
could, possibly, seal the fate of all the forces of darkness. Many died at
orcish hands, but a temporary truce was made right there on that field, and the
combined forces of Henry and Arthur took down the beasts. It was the mages and
druids, with their magical bolts that really determined the fate of the orcs,
who learned that day that the light is not without its own mystic resources.

The truce was indeed only temporary, and both teams tried
short-range flanking actions, and judicious use of magical walls to break the
power of the other. Jarebare snuck in behind enemy lines, but both he and Zomp
the fearful seemed struck by confusion spell, and no clear success was found.
An interesting turn of events took place, with both teams claiming the flag of
the other. The exact details were something of a blur, due to the magic
involved.

Battle turned to
more battle quickly, with both forces
equally divided. No quarter asked, and nothing gained, as each team matched the
other blow by blow. Kaxin the Diminutive and Creepy the Invisible both
distinguished themselves in this combat, cutting a path directly back to their
own flag on the other side. Kaxin, the flag nearly in her capable and wise
hands, was cut down in the last moment by Adelaide
the Resplendent, who also started to rise to the top in these final battles.

There was a long pause as both teams regrouped. Adelaide the Resplendent
defended the Arthurian side of the field of battle, while Volaterras and the
swifter of foot and magically gifted led another assault on the Red’s holdings
in the forest. Jarebare had put a magical wall around the fair Thornberry,
ensuring her safety to restore any wounded warriors to health. Volaterras was
injured early in battle only to be quickly restored by Thornberry who
unfortunately was yet again removed from the field of battle, her actions
removing the spell of protection around her. Volaterras and the others were
pushed farther back into their own territory by Peebler The Impervious, Burrr
the Determined, and Sheckler The Detail-Oriented. A stray magical bolt defeated
both Volaterras and Adelaide.
Andrea the Swift Footed, so quick on her feet reclaimed her team’s honor and
their flag, despite a terrible injury that all but immobilized her. Dejected
and over-run, with neither the flag of their opponents nor their own, the Red’s
men all but gave up, when out of the forest came none other than Kaxin the Diminutive,
holding the team’s very own colors. It was her magic that had felled the two
warriors in the Arthurian contingent, and it was she who reclaimed the honor,
and final victoryfor the Red. They sang her praises, as I’m sure they will for
centuries to come.

Broken and confused, both sides agreed to a truce. They soon
realized that the attacks from the Dark
Forest would’ve been
impossible without traitors from both sides involved. The armies, once
cohesive, broke up. New alliances formed, with smaller bands consisting of
members of both teams. These smaller bands, still committed to the deeper goal
of finding the Last Paladin’s Sword and fighting to remove the darkness from
the forest, began fighting one another in the bloodiest of battles. Creeper the
Invisible and Adelaide the Resplendent formed a hasty alliance, and lay in wait
to see what would happen as the other bands roamed about, seeking the sword and
occasionally engage in bloody battle.Austin the Druid, who saw
the opportunity for even greater glory, sought an alliance with a wood elf of
the forest, and they too took up defensive positions.

It was not long before bloodshed began again. Andrea, Peebles
and Nightshade, now formed as a single Ka-Tet, sought to meet the equally
dangerous combination of Zomp, Volaterras and Burrr. Quickly, they realized
they would be more effective
together and decided to face down the other marauding bands together, seeking
out those lying in wait as it was believed now that one of those hiding in the
dark forest must be allied with its denizens. Yet fortunes turn quickly in the
heat of battle. All of a sudden, as Zomp and Burr began the search, Andrea and
her companions turned on Volaterras, and the mighty warrior, so distinguished
in battle these bloody days, fell. A hush covered the clearings and the forest.

Zomp and Burr could not let this stand, and they quickly turned
back and rushed the one-time allied group with all of their might. Peebles
broke ranks in an attempt to head them off, and while sliding at full speed to
avoid one attack, he quickly met his fate at the end of another blade lying in
wait. And then there were four. The battle became less pitched now. Both sides
sought more defensive positions.
Then in a stunning display Zomp and Burr took out the deadly Nightshade,
leaving only Andrea to defend against the two. She fought valiantly, killing
Zomp and severely injuring Burrr, but losing her life in the process. Thus
Burrr stood victorious.

Yet the sweet taste of victory did not last long. For then out of
the forest emerged Adelaide
the Resplendent and Creeper The Invisible. Burr hastily drank a healing potion,
left by the now-slain priest Thornberry on the field of battle. The ensuing
fight was a pure donnybrook, with Burrr landing several stunning blows on both
opponents, yet in the end it was Creeper and Adelaide that stood triumphant. Then, at the
last moment, Austin
the Druid too emerged from his place in the forest.

These three together, the only surviving members of the once
mighty armies, searched the forests and the blood-stained battlefields, and
discovered the temple that the darkness had fought so hard to keep from them.

In that temple Creeper was chosen to be the recipient of that
most exalted of prizes, a holy sword known as the Sword of the First Paladin capable
of perhaps turning the tide and ending the dark stain that had up to this time
marked the fate, the ka, of Eld, and the Ka-tets, the men and women bound by
fate, which had so far found only death along their paths. Adelaide
the Resplendent and Austin
found magical weapons of their own, and the three committed themselves to
making sure the loss of so many would not be in vain. All of a sudden, out of
the ground rose an illuminated spirit. It was none other than the heaven-based
soul of the Last Paladin himself. He claimed to have been sent by the man Jesus
his self and he with a wave of his hand brought all the warriors who had
searched in vain for the sword their lives back.

He explained to them that both Tyrone and John Farson, the so-called
“Good Man” (who it turned out was anything but), were allies of the darkness,
and it was they who actually led the forces of darkness. It became clear to all
involved that the fight to free this land had just begun, for the dark forces
had a much deeper hold on all that was in the land of Eld than any realized.
Now bound together by a desire for freedom, and an end to all the terrible
bloodshed, both armies swore to break their ties with the leaders they had once
served, and to now follow the holder of the Sword into combat against Farson, Tyrone,
and the dark forces they represented. The glorious noonday, with its wonderful
restoration of life ended with these words by Creeper, “Let’s go get John
Farson.”